Marrow and Marigold
fantasy◐ MatureVeska checked her burial ledger by name and date. The silent rib belonged to a young baker named Toll Hessen, buried six days ago. The ledger said he died of plague. But the bone said he had not. She pulled on her coat and walked through the dark to the Hessen house to ask his family the truth.
Toll's mother answered the door with red eyes. When Veska said the bone showed no plague, the woman broke down. "He was poisoned," she whispered. "By the man who buys our grain. Toll saw him watering down the flour with chalk. Three days later my boy was dead." She grabbed Veska's sleeve. "Please. No one believes me."
What happens next?
2 ways forwardVeska brought the rib and the mother's words to the magistrate. He weighed the bone, then gathered three guards and marched on the grain merchant. The man laughed until Veska said Toll Hessen's name aloud. His face went white. A guard found the chalk and a vial of marigold poison in his cabinet, and they dragged him out in chains.